Dave:

Incidentally, 3.800 is .050 over, not .060.  There is a Dave Dare that posts on the model T site.  Is that you?

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

I don't know the history of this engine, in fact I only bought it because it was attached to a Cruise-o-Matic.  (My wife asked me to turn our '59 Galaxie into an automatic for her.) Bought the whole setup from a guy in Mass., and this is what I got.

Without question, it's the dirtiest engine I ever worked.  You are right, PF.  The crud wasn't tar-like, it was baked-on dirt.  Even the crankshaft balance holes were HEAVILLY packed with dirt.  Took me a long time to clean everything properly.

I am amazed with the transformation of this engine.  The block is bored and honed to 3.800" (which is +.060"), but the machine shop 'head' man was ill today.  The block is better than new, because it's machined and seasoned.

When it goes back together, I will install positive crankcase ventilation.  Right now, I have questions for Ted Eaton regarding my Fel Pro neoprene rear main seal.  Loved your balance articles, Ted.  I was looking for the part about shaving the rod-tops to compensate for new larger pistons.   I love McTim's method of oiling the timing chain by drilling a hole in an oil galley (I'd love to see a pic of that).  Tim's video convinced me, so I pressurized the rocker shafts.  I would also like to use the 'oversized' 180* thermostat.  This engine will be oiled using Rotella-T 15W-40.

Royal Oak, Michigan (Four miles north of Detroit, and 12 miles NORTH of Windsor, Canada).  That's right, we're north of Canada.

Ford 292 Y-Block major overhaul by simplyconnected

Dave; Looking at that extremely cruddy block indicates to me that oiling wasn't it's only problem. The crankcase ventilation system was likely plugged for a long time. Unfortunately in the hands of Joe public, the crankcase venting system which required reasonable maintenance, was often overlooked...

Paul

I got an email back from rollmaster, they say they dont even make a shorter chain, guess i have some nice machined paperweights, gonna order a stock HD roller set when I am going to work on my Y again....



or is there another maker that makes roller sets?

Amazing ways, all of them.  Tim McMaster, do you have a picture?
Ted showed a sheet metal detail I don't have on my '59 292.  After studying the oiling system, it would be a miracle if that little trough worked without your pressurized oil supply hole.
I look at my block's drain holes for witness marks, clean paths where oil flowed.  I don't really see much hope with the stock system:

This engine is sitting on a pallet (that's how it came off the truck).  It is filthy, but shows how bad the oil system had been over its life.  If the block tips down in the back, NO oil will ever get to the chain, which is what happened.

I understand in the old days, extermal oiling kits were sold for Y-Blocks with plumbing running all over this engine from the oil pump.  They drilled holes in the rocker covers for oil tubes.  Hey, whatever it takes...

Royal Oak, Michigan (Four miles north of Detroit, and 12 miles NORTH of Windsor, Canada).  That's right, we're north of Canada.

Ford 292 Y-Block major overhaul by simplyconnected

Lon, rollmaster were taken over a few years back and moved to another state, i,ve spoken to them re the nitrided clearance problem. you,re trunk lock wedge is in the mail. aussiebill.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

You are not alone, this is what I've been doing to get oil to the timing set after pressurizing the rockershafts. I drill the hole behind the cam thrust plate and cut a small trench downward so the oil runs down to the spade and onto the crank gear though, instead of spraying it on.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

Not as simple as it looks and involves some initial investment to make it happen.  If it’s not being driven from a passion standpoint, then in many instances the payback is not justifiable.  These belts are designed to run dry and not exposed to oil.  This simply takes some special considerations to design a system for the Y that allows it to sit on the outside of the engine.  And a water pump still needs to be bolted up to it.  Doable but it’s one of those items that’s not justified in a majority of applications.  It would likely need to look like this one for a small block Ford when it’s all said and done.

 

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

The passenger side rocker overflow tube does direct the oil to an engineered path in the block to the timing chain area.  When examining the front area of the lifter valley in a Y block, you’ll see a designed and cast in path or channel where the oil from this particular overflow tube gets redirected to the timing chain area.

The aforementioned oil trough bolted on the front of the block does a good job of directing the oil to the lower timing gear sprocket and chain which then gets carried back up to the cam gear.  This trough was eliminated in 1956 but I’ve built a jig that allows these to be put back on the later model engines in the correct factory specified position.  Here’s a couple of pics of the oil trough for those that have never seen one.

   

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

My rollmaster chains are oiled this way. Place the cam sprocket in place, there's an oil galley between the crank and cam. On the oil galley mark the spot with a magic marker put a dot where the  cam sprocket teeth are. That's where you drill an approx .030 hole for oil to spray onto the sprocket teeth to oil the chain. I did away with the overflow tubes too pressurized the rockers and have no more galled shafts. I also use a restricter in place to restrict the oil to the rockers.

-Gary Burnette-